Dr. Paul Thomas, a pediatrician who once ran a large practice of 10 doctors serving 15,000 patients, is raising alarm about the financial pressures that drive pediatricians to push aggressive vaccine schedules.
In a recent interview, Dr. Thomas detailed how pediatric practices are often structured around vaccine-related payments, making it difficult for offices to stay financially viable without adhering closely to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccination schedule.
According to Dr. Thomas, pediatricians typically earn about $40 for the first vaccine antigen and an additional $20 for each subsequent dose. Using a two?month “well?baby” visit as an example, he explained that administering multiple vaccines could generate roughly $240 per patient during that single appointment.
But when more families at his practice began refusing vaccines, the financial consequences were significant.
“We looked at how much money was being lost for vaccines that were refused,” Dr. Thomas said. “The business was grossing $3 million annually, and roughly 33% of that was coming from vaccine ‘incentives.’ We were losing $1 million due to parents refusing vaccines.”
The economic realities, Dr. Thomas added, are stark.
“It is very expensive to run a pediatric office; it’s a huge operation,” he said. “So, you cannot stay in business if you’re not giving pretty close to the CDC schedule. It just doesn’t pencil out economically at all.”
This isn’t just anecdotal. According to Blue Cross Blue Shield’s “Childhood Immunization Incentive Program,” practices can receive bonus payments for meeting certain vaccine coverage thresholds. A 2016 report in Pediatrics noted that practices failing to hit those targets risk losing significant income—making the incentive to maximize vaccinations explicit and systemic.
And the money doesn’t stop at the clinic level. The pediatric vaccine market generates an estimated $30–40 billion annually for pharmaceutical companies, according to data compiled by Evaluate Pharma and Statista. For comparison, the global vaccine market as a whole was valued at over $70 billion in 2024. Pediatric vaccines—including high-volume shots like MMR, DTaP, polio, and newer add-ons—are a major profit center for companies like Pfizer, Merck, and GlaxoSmithKline.
Dr. Thomas’s remarks raise broader ethical questions: Are these financial incentives compromising medical independence? If avoiding vaccines can bankrupt a practice, how freely can doctors truly advise patients?
Watch the video here for Dr. Thomas’s full breakdown.
Yes, pediatricians DO get paid to vaccinate YOUR children.
Here is how ?? pic.twitter.com/mR3xtyaHbv
— Children’s Health Defense (@ChildrensHD) July 31, 2025
With billions of dollars tied up in vaccine distribution and compliance programs, critics say it may be time for lawmakers and medical boards to scrutinize whether these arrangements place profit over informed consent—and whether parents are being pushed toward decisions that benefit providers’ bottom lines more than their children’s health.